Assam, April 1: Hours after the second phase of polls concluded in Assam on Thursday, a video surfaced on social media which allegedly showed electronic voting machines (EVM) in the car of Patharkandi BJP candidate Krishnendu Paul.
The video was tweeted out by Assam-based journalist Atanu Bhuyan, who mentioned that the “situation is tense in Patharkandi” following the incident.
Every time there is an election videos of private vehicles caught transporting EVM’s show up. Unsurprisingly they have the following things in common:
1. The vehicles usually belong to BJP candidates or their associates. ….
— Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) April 2, 2021
Targeting the BJP over the incident, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi said the Election Commission should act decisively on such complaints and that a serious re-evaluation of the use of EVM in Assam Polls needs to be carried out by all national parties.
Priyanka also said that the BJP uses its media machinery to accuse those who exposed them as sore losers. “Every time there is an election video of private vehicles caught transporting EVM’s show up. Unsurprisingly they have the following things in common: 1. The vehicles usually belong to BJP candidates or their associates. 2. The videos are taken as one-off incidents and dismissed as aberrations. 3. The BJP uses its media machinery to accuse those who exposed the videos as sore losers,” she tweeted.
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“The fact is that too many such incidents are being reported and nothing is being done about them. The EC needs to start acting decisively on these complaints and a serious re-evaluation of the use of EVM’s needs to be carried out by all national parties,” Priyanka added.
On Thursday, 39 assembly seats went to polls in Assam in the second phase of the election. A voter turnout of 73.03 per cent was recorded till 6 pm.
